Faculty Professional Development Workshop on Africa

May 11, 2015

The University of Florida's Center for African Studies and the International Education Program at Santa Fe College are pleased to announce a faculty professional development workshop for the Fall 2015. This workshop will help faculty from a variety of disciplines learn how to integrate the study of Africa into their curriculum. The workshop will consist of six Friday afternoon sessions from 2-5PM. Each session will be a leading African scholar on the subject matter to be covered.

Benefits to Faculty Participants

• Opportunity for curriculum development with the support of UF distinguished faculty
• Establishment of new partnerships with scholars on Africa
• Collection of course books, materials, and bibliographies
• A stipend of $500

Proposed Dates and Topics

Friday, September 4: Geography: Environment, Resources and Economics of Africa

This session will focus on the geography of Africa including its natural resources and how this impacts the people's lifestyle. It will also look at the continent's resources and how they compare at the global level.

Friday, September 18: Languages, Cultures and Customs

This session will focus on the sociolinguistic landscape of Africa's 2000+ languages, who speaks what, where and why.

Friday, October 16: Religions of Africa and Contemporary Trends

Recent headlines have pointed to the rise of Al-Qaeda related groups in West Africa. These groups are a new phenomenon with very little relationship to the long history of Islam in the region and are at odds with traditions of religion and politics in Africa. The talk will discuss how and why these groups have come to threaten the region and why this matters.

Friday, October 30: Women and Politics: The Changing Status of Women

Women in decision making positions in Africa outnumber many countries. This session will look at how the status of women is changing and how they impact the African countries.

Friday, November 13. Literature and Culture

The presenter will provide some suggested topics and literature that can be easily included in teaching about Africa. This will also include documentaries and online resources.

Friday, November 20: Art History (at the Harn Museum)

This session which will be held in the Harn Museum will focus on African art history. It will also include traditional and contemporary dress currently on exhibit at the Museum.

Friday, December 4: Santa Fe Faculty Presentations

SF Faculty will present topics of interest to them and how they can incorporate them in their teaching.

Faculty Selection

Santa Fe faculty members from any discipline are invited to apply for this opportunity. The workshop will be highly interdisciplinary with the goal of demonstrating how material from varied disciplines might be used to teach students about Africa. Applicants should submit a two page statement describing the courses they teach or propose to teach, any previous exposure to African Studies, and how their participation in this workshop will help them incorporate the study of Africa into their teaching. Faculty wishing to participate in this workshop must commit to participating in all six sessions and implement their proposed curricular revisions within a year after the workshop's conclusion. Stipend funding will be available for up to ten faculty participants.

Applications should be sent to Dr. Vilma Fuentes via email (vilma.fuentes@sfcollege.edu) or to her office in F252 by May 29, 2015.